Doom Generation

The Doom Generation is a stunning, gripping, gut-wrenching movie. It's easy to see why reactions are so strongly polarized, with almost everybody either loving it or hating it. It's scary to imagine what kind of mind would react with genuine indifference.

I admit I didn't read all the reviews already posted for it, but in the ones I did read I was surprised to find so few that mentioned how funny and how charming this movie is. Like it or not, it's primarily a romantic comedy, and if you miss that you've missed what holds it all together. It's extremely intelligent, very dark, very sweet, profoundly erotic, and shockingly bloody. But most of all it's very, very funny. If I'd missed the humor, I'd still like the freewheeling sexiness, but I'd be appalled by the violence. But I didn't miss the humor, so I loved it all.

Everything about it is brilliant: the writing, the direction, even the gory special effects, and every single member of the large cast is perfect, especially the three leads. For a "heterosexual" movie, as Araki labeled it (with some irony, I have to think), with plenty of sex between the girl and both guys, the most powerfully erotic scenes are between the two men alone. There's no sex acted out between them at all, not even a kiss, but the heat is intense and stunning, much more powerful than the explicit sex between either of them and the girl. It's the best proof I've ever seen that eroticism and sex are completely different, and in a movie eroticism is much more entertaining. The sex acts in this movie may be all hetero, but the real heat is as gay as it gets. That's quite a coup.

I for one am glad it's not in widescreen on the DVD. If a movie that's filmed widescreen is shown at 4:3, you do lose information. But a lot of independent movies from that period were filmed at 4:3, so that a "widescreen" version just crops off the top and bottom of the picture, and you actually get less information. (The widescreen version of Gus Van Sant's brilliant Elephant is like that, but fortunately that DVD includes both versions.)

Gregg Araki's Doom Generation is a satirical look at a generation that has been played out in cookie cutter versions of Gen X films. Don't get me wrong, Doom Generation is a little more "visual" than let's say, "Reality Bites," but then so is "Nowhere." The graphic nature of the violence and language play into Araki's satire and even the subliminal messages throughout the film play into the hands of those who look upon the "Gen-X" films as hip because we all go to a coffee house. Capitalism is evident in these films because of all the product placement, but we are not supposed to give in to this commercialism. Giving into this wasteland of over-marketed products is what Gen-X'ers say that they will not do while wearing their $60 Tommy pants and sipping on a $6.00 latte. Araki does what any brilliant director would do in this situation: make THE DOOM GENERATION.

Gregg Araki's THE DOOM GENERATION is reminiscent of everything from MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO to THE RIVER'S EDGE to TRUE ROMANCE to the experimental films of Pasolini, of Warhol (Morrisey), as well as of Richard Kern. The film reveals its thematic message when the most innocent and selfless of its three main characters asks the other, more self-centered, two if they ever think about the meaning of existence. Dismissing the very question, they reveal to the questioner an answer of sorts, one which suggests that we each create a meaning for ourselves, and are all existentially alone as we do so.

While offering us a rather slight story of a pair of teen lovers on the road who encounter a slightly older bisexual who becomes their nemesis, companion, lover and protector, THE DOOM GENERATION offers a great deal of visual style and wit, and some genuine moments of suspense. In fact, the film's gory and discomforting climactic scene is perhaps the artistic highlight and suggests some real filmaking talent by writer/director Gregg Araki. This is probably not everyone's cup of tea, but is worth a look for those who like a film which challenges them to react to strong imagery and who don't mind transgressive depictions.

One of my personal favorite films is this tale of a road adventure between a teenage couple and a guy they pick up, leading to lots of sex, gory violence and bizarre events. This one is quite a dark movie, with lots of death and tragedy, but at the same time a brilliant look at the whacked-out characters involved in these harrowing situations. Director Gregg Araki seems to have a knack for these types of movies. His next film was the even better NOWHERE. Definitely Recommended.

This was one of the strangest movie I've ever seen, but at the same time, one of the most meaningful. This was a good movie. There was a sadistic violence, a bunch of sex scenes, vulgarity, more graphic violence, more sex, a three way, and an incredibly sad, tragic ending.

If you are able to look past all this (many people cannot, mind you), than you will see a good movie about three teenage tortured souls cruising along the urban pits of Los Angeles, who run into a crazy clerk with a shotgun, a crazy drive thru attendant with a shotgun, a nasty blonde with a sword, and some really scary Neo Nazis, who all think Amy Blue is someone else.

Rose McGowen is Amy Blue, the sexy, angry, speed taking, tough as nails lead character, James Duval is Amy's naive, stoner boyfriend Jordan White, and Johnathon Schaech was Xavier Red, the crazy, dangerous, kinky, and violent source of trouble. If you have a strong stomach, and don't mind harshly sad endings, check it out, but be aware, because you might get grossed out and leave (I almost did). 9/10